decomber
COMMENTARY
by
1.2QQQ'
M a r t y D a v is
The IN publication for the OUT population
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown and R enée L a C hance
A rt D irector • R upert K innard
V oi. 18 N o . 3
D ecem ber
1
,
2000
FEATURE
JINGLE BLUES: Thoughts on overcoming
holiday blahs
p 24
NEWS
NORTHWEST • Pride Northwest cleared of
wrongdoing; what did the police chief say
to the drag queen?; program prepares women
for the trades; Balloons on Broadway rises
to the occasion; gay psychic mayor predicts
bright future for Mosier
pp 6 - 1 9
NATIONAL • Straight students unite;
homeless shelter eats humble pie;
no butts about it—tobacco kills
pp 2 0 - 2 1
WORLD • Korean actor learns to love himself;
Gay Games go for the gold
pp 2 2 - 2 3
ENTERTAINM ENT
& CULTURE
MUSIC • PGMC gets in the spirit
pp 35
THEATER • Scrooge comes out of the closet;
Heidi Carlsen gradually performs
pp 3 7 - 3 9
BOONS • The country life; the many lives of
Michael Thomas Ford
PP 4 1 - 4 2
DIVERSIONS • ’Tis the season for dances, parties
and socials
p 43
DANCE• James Canfield’s cracking up
p 45
TELEVISION • That's all, folks
p 46
COLUMN
MS. BEHAVIOR • Unbrotherly love
p 33
ia p u blish ed on th e first and third
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Be there or be scared
We have two hours to express our fears and expectations
y office sits directly across the Willamette River from the
Made in Oregon deer.
It is our intent that agreements will be reached and that action plans
will be made to ensure the long-range impact of this situation is as pos
itive and productive as possible. We need to address such specific topics
as recruitment and promotion of sexual minority officers. We need to
know the “trickle-down” impact of Kroeker’s anti-gay bias. We need to
He and 1 exchange meaningful looks year-round, and
hear the chief acknowledge the rift and sorrow his words have created.
I know we both entertain notions now and then of jump We need to know whether trust can be rebuilt. These goals will be
ing down from our respective perches to head off for the
impossible to accomplish if the evening is splintered into myriad direc
hills. December is not the month for either of us to run off, though.
tions and concerns.
My deer spends the holidays creating old and new memories as
I want to acknowledge Bonnie Tinker and Love Makes a Family for
Rudolph, while I flounder through a year’s worth of tedious tasks that
the efforts they put into their forum Nov. 21.1 came away from that
should have been long completed by now. I stare at the deer as 1 procras meeting with a heightened understanding of the deep differences
tinate... perhaps we can both get away next month?
between people who should be neighbors but are divided by so many
But before next month there is work to do here and now. Not the least
barriers.
of which is to continue working to resolve the confusion and dilemma of
As I listened to the frustration and anger of people detailing their
the controversy surrounding Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker.
experiences, I was suddenly aware th at I never once have thought of
By now, everyone must he aware of what has occurred since the
fearing the police. In fact, I always have
Portland Alliance published the story of the tapes in its November issue.
taken comfort in knowing they are there.
Since the Nov. 17 issue of Just Out, there have been meetings,
The simple
birthday fact is we have
I recognize now th at this is a privilege
parties, television cameras galore, communi
not available to all. Race, class and eco
a two-hour meeting,
ty forums and a great many articles on the
nomics surely affect o n e’s appreciation of
subject— and it’s far from over.
the police departm ent.
and we are not going to solve
Kroeker has agreed to attend a communi
W hat was made clear to me that night was
all
problems
o
f
the
greater
community
ty meeting organized by Just Out and the
that the comfort zone 1 perceive as being cre
Sexual Minorities Roundtable. This forum
ated by the police is to others a virtual barri
during this one evening.
will start 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at Metropolitan
er—just one of many barriers that create an
Community Church of Portland, 2400 N.E.
“us” and “them ” society...or perhaps an “us”
Broadway.
vs. “them" society? I also came away with the question, “If hate speech
The meeting is being held to address the
leads to hate crimes, what then does more hate, and hating back, lead to?”
concerns of the sexual minorities community
One additional problematic indicator has bothered me during the
as affected by Kroeker’s taped remarks. This is a single-item agenda with monthlong dialogue about the Kroeker tapes. And this is apathy.
the sole focus of facilitating communication between our community and
I’m concerned about apathy and complacency on the part of the
the police department.
sexual m inorities community. Too few people have been speaking
Many citizens of Portland have frustrations, problems and concerns
o u t...to o few people have shown co n cern ...to o few people view the
with the police departm ent. These include residual anger from the
contradiction between the chief’s profession and his religious beliefs as
May Day protest, lack of a civilian police review board, community
a potential conflict of interest for our community.
policing, gentrification in N orth and N ortheast Portland, racial pro
This community needs to be present Dec. 11 to make a strong, positive
filing, child abuse, domestic violence and many other personal and
statement about our values, our worth, our expectations and our goals.
deep-felt grievances.
This is our opportunity to be heard. I hope to see you there. i n
All of these concerns aside, the simple fact is we have a two-hour meet
ing, and we are not going to solve all problems of the greater community
during this one evening. Therefore, we are narrowing our focus to that
which can be addressed and discussed reasonably.
PUBLISHER AND MANAGING EDITOR • Marty Davis
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